Galileo Galilei, you will recall, got himself into a great deal of
trouble back in the early 17th century by daring to confirm the
Copernican theory of the universe. The Italian astronomer-physicist
also formulated certain principles of dynamics and refined a new
invention called the telescopeaccomplishments that were considered
acceptable, even exciting. But insisting that the earth revolved around
the sun was pushing things too far, and the church got in a terrible
tear. The idea that the earth was not the...